Joshua Tree National Park
We had a bit of a dilemma: we had to catch a ferry the next morning to Channel Islands National Park, so we had to be in good position the night before. We decided to visit Joshua Tree National Park in a drive-through manner, and continue to the Los Angeles area.
Joshua Tree National Park splits the Colorado and Mohave Deserts down its center. We entered from the east, driving through the Colorado Desert first. At one point it reached 110 degrees. By the time we were on the main road in the park it was all the way down to the mid-90s. Neither one of us had any idea what to expect from the park, but we were pleasantly surprised. The Joshua Trees tower over all the other, low-lying desert vegetation. And no two Joshua Trees look the same. In addition, boulders sit in the middle of these flat lands, completely out of place. The boulders are super-grippy and, thus, super-fun to climb on.
We would have liked to give the park more time, but we had to continue. We found out later the park's attraction of containing nearly-equal parts of the two deserts is really the main attraction. And it is a stark difference (although I don't have any photos of the Colorado portion to show you). I do believe it deserves park status, but Joshua Tree is a bad name. There are Joshua trees all throughout southern California and Nevada. We read it was going to be called something like Desert Flowers National Park. Perhaps something along the lines of Desert Vegetation NP would have worked. It's a cool park with a bad name.Camping In Los Angeles
Don't do it.
We found a campsite in Ventura, near the harbor that was first-come, first-served. Then we got there and saw there was a county fair right next to the campground! This bumped the tent sites (at which you could not park your car next to) up to $55 for one night. We declined and paid a few dollars more for a quiet hotel nearby.
Channel Islands National Park
There are three national parks in the lower 48 which require a ferry. I've chosen to omit two of them, Channel Islands being the exception. There is a big problem here. NPS does not run the ferry's directly. Therefore, they are expensive and communication is often lacking.
Although we booked our reservation a month prior, we were without a confirmation email. We were also without proper directions on reaching the harbor. We made it (with minutes to spare) to the building with matches 100 neighboring buildings on a street that makes several turns but maintains the same name. The lack of signage is a bit ridiculous considering the company's essential monopoly on Channel Islands ferry rides.
We had awoken around 6:00 a.m., the sky was overcast, and it took us twice as long as it should have to find the ferry. It was a rough start.
But it was still exciting to be going to camp on an island. When we arrived, about 3/4 of the people on the ferry exited, while the rest remained. We wondered what they were doing, but didn't ask.
When we exited the ferry we were greeted by an older gentleman, a park volunteer, who said we were the only ones camping on the island. Apparently everyone else was leaving that day. However, I saw the park ranger with a big pack and assumed she was staying. I also didn't trust the man because everything he said he either read from a paper or was factually incorrect. But it was an exciting idea anyways.Channel Islands Overview
There are eight islands that make up Channel Islands. Five of the eight are part of Channel Islands National Park. The closest to the harbor is Anacapa Island, where the majority of those who leave the ferry visit. Anacapa is made up of three islets, only one of which you can walk upon. The island is essentially a plateau jutting out of the ocean, all sides of which are 300-500 feet sheer cliffs. We had to climb a ladder to get on the island. And the particular islet we could walk about walk about 2-2.5 miles long and about 0.5 miles wide. Our Island
We hiked 0.5 miles to our campsite and set up camp. We decided if we were to be the only folks on the island later (those who got off the boat were leaving mid-afternoon), we should wait to explore the less-than-4 miles of trails. So we hung around camp for awhile.
At 3:00 p.m., the ferry returned and picked up everyone. Everyone. Except us. We checked the ranger station and, yes indeed, we were the only people on the island. Until 3:30 p.m. the following day. We explored the island on this overcast day for a few hours in the afternoon.
Wildlife
There was a lot of wildlife on the island. Up top, it's mostly seabirds - seagulls and the endangered brown pelicans. The pelicans are nice and quiet but the gulls are boisterous! And they never stopped. It was not easy sleeping. Below, the island supports Sea Lions and California Seals. We could see them from up top but couldn't get close. The Sun
After exploring for a few hours, we returned to camp and rested in the tent for a bit. Almost immediately, the sun appeared, giving us a beautiful sunset (from Inspiration Point).
I could go on and on what it's like to have an island to yourself for 24 hours. It's incredible. No matter how bad the island smells.
This was the day I introduced my camping partner to Tortilla Stuffers, the greatest camping dinner ever.
The Ferry Back
I was very worried about the ferry returning. They told my partner it would be back at 3:30 p.m., but I wasn't so trusting. There was no one to check with. We waited nervously for about an hour, but it arrived right on time. We later found out we were famous - the captain announced they were going to the island to pick up two campers. When we got on the ferry, people's faces were pretty hilarious. Wow, they had that island all to themselves. That's really cool! A few passengers approached us about our experience and made up stories about how they would be interested in doing the same.
On the ride back to the mainland, the captain first took us around to the back of the island to view the sea lions closer. We were also able to go through two schools of dolphins. What I mean is he drove right over where they were swimming (an in-board motor won't hurt the animals). We were standing at the front of the boat at that time, watching the dolphins swim. They even seemed to be racing the boat at one point. What a cool experience. Here are a few dolphins. California Album
Next Post: California, Round 2, Part 2
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